National Anthem

This song is so powerful. And to me, it has a huge message that the video definitely embodied.

This is my take on the story the song tells:

She starts off having stars in her eyes for this rich and famous big shot guy who is taking here to parties and introducing her to this crazy luxurious lifestyle. He tells her to "be cool" and she's nervous because she's never been in this niche.

In the next verse, she gives an amazing metaphor for having sex. But this time, she says "i'm already the coolest" when he tells her to "be cool". she has figured out the lifestyle now and she has become a part of that world. now she isn't just asking to go to parties, she wants him to buy diamonds.

In the end of the song she has blended completely into this crazy lifestyle of guys, money, drugs, alcohol, fame, etc. She is no longer that naive girl that was first introduced at the beginning of the song. She has lost to herself to the fake world of "fame". She is the "queen of Saigon" or.. the queen of the fallen.

Lana tells this story and then towards the end talks about it being a "love story of the new age". Like, this is what the world has come to... People are obsessed with pop culture and these "celebrities" and "socialites". This crazed world of the famous is glamorized and the people in the spotlight often forget what's real and in the end all they have done is ruined their own lives, just as the girl in the story did.

Money HAS become the anthem of success. They are considered one in the same in modern times.